Are You My Mother?
by bg3929
Summary: Are You My Mother? (title from the Dr. Seuss book) While searching for her new charge, Emma Swan, Paige Matthews finds herself in a sticky situation. (Inspired by the fact that young Cora is played by Rose McGowan)
1. Chapter 1

Ch 1 : The meeting

When Paige Matthews awoke to find herself in the middle of a forest, she was pissed to say the least. Earlier that day, when the Elders had assigned her a new charge, Paige had been excited. When she found out that she could not orb into the area where her charge was located, that excitement quickly dissipated. After hiking for hours through some god-forsaken part of Maine trying to find the way into town, Paige had given up and decided to head home. It was late, and this was no easy task, but it _was_ one that could wait until morning. With a sigh to relieve the tension that had built up in her body over the course of the day, Paige smiled slightly as she orbed home to spend time with her family.

Or at least she tried to. Paige had opened her eyes to find herself not at home with Henry, Henry jr., and the twins, but lying spread-eagle on the forest floor. Paige cursed as she dusted herself off and stood up. Her hand halted at her jeans pocket. She angrily kicked the leaves at her feet when she realized that she had left her cell phone at home. Great. Like this day could get any worse.

Suddenly, in the distance, Paige swore she heard a noise. Was that an engine? When the telltale dual pinpricks of the headlights appeared, Paige took off toward them at a sprint. For once she was glad that Henry mad her go for jogs with him in the mornings. Puffing, she stopped when her feet hit pavement. She cautiously stood in the middle of the road and waved her arms above her head to attract the attention of the approaching car.

"Hey!" she screeched, her voice cracking in desperation. The car continued to barrel toward her, and Paige closed her eyes to protect them from the headlights' glare. "He-"

The witch was cut off by the squeal of tires. Seconds later, she heard the sound of a car door open and slam, followed by a series of angry, heeled footsteps coming toward her.

"What do you think you're doing!" spat a woman's voice icily. Paige opened her eyelids a smidgen, but she was still blinded by the headlights and could only make out the woman's silhouette.

"I-I'm sorry! I was, uh… hiking in the woods and got lost!"

"Well, next time…" Paige would never know what to do next time, as the woman trailed off her angry rant and stopped short. From the rigidity of her posture, Paige could tell that she was surprised by something.

"What, is something wrong?"

The woman didn't reply. She simply stepped forward and reached out her hand, brushing it against Paige's blouse as if to test if she were actually there. Finally, Paige could see her face. Currently, it was expressing pure terror. Raising her gaze to meet Paige's the woman whispered one word, a breathless whimper so quiet that Paige nearly missed it. But she didn't, and it only served to confuse the witchlighter further.

"Mother?"


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2 : Confusion

Paige's eyes widened in horror as she stared at the woman before her.

"No. No no no. Please tell me this isn't happening _again_." Paige's eyes raked the stunned woman to try and find any trace in her features that would signify relation, but to no avail. She breathed a sigh or relief. Though they hadn't noticed at first, Chris had looked much like his family, especially his late aunt. This woman, however, bore no such resemblance. Paige was about to dismiss that this woman could possibly be her daughter, but what happened next, however, made her reconsider.

"Mom, what's going on?" cried the voice of a young boy from the back of the car.

"Stay where you are Henry." replied the woman, attempting to keep her voice from shaking and failing.

Paige gasped at the name. The voice didn't sound like her son, but if this woman really was one of her daughters, then this whole situation might just be the result of a spell gone wrong. Paige pinched the bridge of her nose. She suddenly had a migraine coming on.

"Which one are you?" Asked Paige with a sigh "And where did you get that car?"

The dark haired woman frowned in confusion. "Whatever do you mean?"

Paige scowled. Was this woman really her daughter? "Are you Kat or Tamora? And is that your brother or your father in the car?"

The woman blinked in surprise but seemed to regain some composure. "M-my name is Regina Mills. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Your resemblance to my late mother really is _uncanny_." Regina drew out the last word, still eying Paige distrustfully. "And what did you say your name was again, dear?"

"I didn't. It's Paige, Paige Matthews. I would really appreciate a ride into the nearest town if you wouldn't mind. I've kinda been out here a long time and I want to contact my family."

Regina nodded curtly at Paige. "Of course, dear. It would be no trouble." Regina paused, narrowing her eyes at the woman before her. "I can tell you've been lost a while. You were a bit… confused… earlier."

Paige coughed. Of course she'd seemed insane to this woman. Regular people didn't know about the possibilities and consequences of magic. "Right… thanks."

* * *

So far the car ride had been silent. Paige watched the trees rush by in the dark, trying to keep her mind off of her problems. She was worried, not just for herself but for her charge. If there was something going on in the area powerful enough to disrupt her own magic, Paige couldn't begin to imagine what kind of danger Emma Swan was in. She mentally rifled through the Book of Shadows, but to no avail. She had no idea what she was up against. She just hoped that her charge would survive long enough in this damned place so that Paige could help her.

In the driver's seat, Regina Mills was just as lost in her own thoughts. She could swear her heart had skipped a beat when she had finally laid eyes on the stranger. The woman was the spitting image of a young Cora. Fear and, surprisingly, relief had flooded through Regina as she stared at the woman in the middle of the highway. Regina _knew_ she had watched her mother die. But she also knew enough about magic to believe that there was some kind of plot going on. So, until the situation was dealt with, the former Evil Queen had resolved not to let this 'Paige Matthews' out of her sight.

For his part, Henry just stared at the strange woman they'd picked up on the side of the highway. Naturally, he was suspicious. People didn't just 'show up' in Storybrooke. She _had_ to be here for a reason. Eventually, he got up the courage to speak to the mysterious woman who sat across fro him in the back seat of his mother's car.

"So… what brings you to Storybrooke?" When his only response from the woman was a confused look, the boy also blurted "I'm Henry by the way."

Paige smiled warmly at him. "I'm Paige." She paused for a beat. "You know, my husband's name is Henry. Our son is named Henry Jr." Henry Mills grinned.

"Cool! It's kind of an old fashioned name, so I don't usually meet any kids with the same name as me."

Paige chuckled lightly. "Yeah, well, my family is kind of old fashioned when it comes to names. At least my side is anyways. I had an older sister named _Prudence_!"

Henry noticed the change in the woman's demeanor. "Had?" he asked quietly. Paige gave the boy a sad smile.

"Yeah. She was, um, killed before I had the chance to reunite with my birth family."

"I'm sorry." Henry's demeanor suddenly brightened. I found my birth mom, Emma, a few years ago and brought her back to Storybrooke with me. Eventually, she found her birth parents there too."

Paige appreciated the boy's attempt do distract her from her sadness and was about to respond in kind when a thought struck her. "Wait, Emma, as in Emma Swan?" Henry's eyes widened in surprise.

"You know her?"

Paige inwardly grimmaced at her sheer dumb luck, but decided to take a chance and ask for Henry's help in finding her charge. "Not exactly, but one of the reasons I came out here was so that I could speak with her." The car swerved slightly and Paige saw that Regina had gripped the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were white. She also realized that they were pulling up to what appeared to be a Diner. Bracing herself for any backlash, Paige breathes out the words that she hoped would finally bring her to her charge. "Do you know where I could find her?"

Henry glared at Paige suspiciously. "Wait a minute…"

"Henry, don't be rude!" exclaimed Regina, know ing exactly what her son was about to do. He paid her no heed.

"Are you magic?"

All of the color drained from her face as she stared at the boy next to her. Swallow ing her panic, Paige managed to squeak out "You know?"

Regina suddenly slammed on the breaks and whipped around to face Paige. A fireball appeared in her hand. "I think we need to have a little chat, dear."


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3 : Battle of the Witches

For about a second Paige was frozen in fear and horror, but she quickly pulled herself together. The time for half-truths and secrets was over: they were in her world now.

"Henry run! She's a demon!"

The boy jumped in surprise. "What, no she's not she's a-"

Henry was cut off when Paige waived her arm at him and yelled "Diner!" He disappeared in a swirl of blue orbs. Thankfully, out of the corner of her eye, Paige saw him reappear at one of the window booths. Unfortunately, Regina did not. The darker woman's eyes flashed with rage.

"What did you do to my son?!" she growled. Meanwhile, Paige discreetly dug through her bag for the emergency vanquishing potion she always carried with her. Realizing she needed to buy herself time, Paige fell back onto her family's go-to tactic; snark.

"Somewhere safe. It's yourself you should be worried about. I didn't think that there were any demons left that were stupid enough to come after a Charmed One. Clearly I was wrong. Or have you simply been living under a rock for the past few decades?"

"Don't play games with me." Snarled the former Evil Queen dangerously. "You have _no_ idea who you're dealing with!" Regina's expression darkened. "By the time i'm through with you, you're going to _wish_ I was a demon!"

Not intimidated in the least, Paige rolled her eyes. "Right, whatever, warlock then?"

Regina's free hand curled into a fist. "No, dear. I'm a witch."

At that Paige actually laughed aloud. "You really expect me to believe that? Witches don't use fireballs."

Regina scoffed "And just how much experience do you have with witches, dear?"

At last Paige's hand grasped the tiny vial she had been seeking. "Considering the fact that I'm a witch, plenty!" With that she hurled the potion at her attacker and leaped out of the car.

* * *

Somehow, Regina managed to deflect the vial. It shattered against the windshield with a suspicious hiss. For a moment all the former Evil Queen could do was stare at her melting windshield. Enraged at the supposed 'witch', she snarled and slammed open her car door. Her heart soared with relief as she saw Henry dash out of Granny's, closely followed by his birth mother and grandparents. At the corner of her eye, Regina watched Paige scurry into a nearby alley. Regina wanted to blast her to bits for endangering her son, but she settled instead for rushing over to ensure that the boy was ok.

"Henry!" she shouted, making her way over to the boy as fast as it humanly possible in the heels she was wearing. The boy launched himself into her arms for a moment before pulling back.

"Where's Paige?"

A murderous look darkened the ex-Mayor's face. She gave Henry one last look over to ensure he was fine before turning toward the alley the other witch had disappeared into.

"Come out and face me you coward! I should have known better than to trust someone with a face like yours!"

By this time, the whole of Granny's diner had emptied out to watch the spectacle on the street. There had been a celebration for Belle's birthday going on, so the little establishment had been filled to the brim with fairytale well-wishers.

Regina was beginning to think that the strange 'witch' was staying back, but the woman soon stepped from the shadows.

"You can come after me all you want, but you know we can't expose ourselves with all these innocents around." Paige's voice was surprisingly intimidating to Regina, but couldn't help but chuckle at the woman's words.

"There's not a single person here that doesn't know about magic, dear." regina watched with glee as the woman's confidence shattered, replaced by fear. 'Good' she thought 'nobody endangers Henry and gets away with it.' With a fearsome expression on her face, Regina summoned a fire ball and hurled it at the stranger. She was more than mildly surprised and annoyed as the woman dogged it with ease. With a growl, the sorceress hurled several more flaming orbs at the woman, all of which were either dodged or deflected back at her with a shout of "Fireball!"

For her part, Paige dodged the attacks easily. She had over a decade of experience in this kind of battle, so she knew she would be able to handle herself, at least for a time. Paige swallowed and tried not to think of anything past avoiding the next fireball. Based on the facts, she was screwed. Alone with no potions or spells to speak of and no way of reaching her sisters, the witchlighter knew she was in trouble. However, if this life had taught her anything, she knew that no situation was hopeless. So, stubbornly she continued to fight, expertly dodging, weaving, and reflecting Regina's attacks. That is until she was struck on the back of the head by a two-by-four.

Grinning, Emma swan wiped her hands on her pants after depositing her impromptu weapon back in the dumpster where she had found it.

"Sometimes you just have to do things the old fashioned way." she offered to the stunned crowd with a shrug. Suddenly serious, the Sheriff added "Let's take her back to the station for questioning."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Interrogation

When Paige Matthews came to for the third time that day, she was simply _**fed up.**_ All she'd wanted was to get in, find her charge, and go home. But _no_, the damn woman had do be surrounded by at least one confirmed demon, and if said demon's claims had been correct, a whole slew of townspeople knowledgeable of magic. Base on the fact that they hadn't come to the aid of someone who could orb, she guessed that they weren't too fond of the Elders or anyone who worked with them. Paige let out a heavy sigh. At least she wasn't trapped in a cage in the underworld by the Source of All Evil this time. Or dead (again) she added mentally with a laugh.

Paige's eyes fluttered mentally and she became more aware of her surroundings. To her dismay, she realized that she was handcuffed and in some sort of cell. She sat up with a groan, the back of her head throbbing and stars swimming in her vision. Paige knew she could easily escape if she wanted to; her powers seemed to be working fine, just as long as she didn't try to orb away from this hellish town. However, she knew she couldn't get far in an unfamiliar place and with the injury she had just sustained. For what seemed like the millionth time, Paige cursed the fact that she could not use her healing power on herself. Blinking to clear her vision, Paige realized that she wasn't alone in the room. Outside the cell, a small group of people were gathered around a desk. Paige winced as she realized that none of them seemed all too pleased with her. Noticing she was awake, a scowling blonde woman marched up to Paige. The whitelighter let out a small gasp when she sensed that the woman was her charge.

The woman, however, seemed to think that Paige's gasp was one of fear.

"Good." she growled "You're awake."

Paige just raised her eyebrows. At least she had spunk.

"Regina said you wanted to talk to me?" she asked, feigning flippancy. Suddenly, the woman was right in Paige's face. "Then talk!"

Paige began to mentally prepare a false explanation for herself, but stopped. Her day had already gone to hell in a hand basket, so she might as well just come out with it.

"I'm you're whitelighter, Emma. The Elders sent me to guide and protect you."

The blonde Savior looked skeptical. But her 'superpower' hadn't alerted her to a lie, so she pressed the woman for more information. "And what exactly are 'whitelights' and 'Elders'"

Paige hadn't thought it was possible, but her headache worsened. She was in for a hell of a long night. "The Elders are a council of elevated whitelighters who watch over this world and make sure that the cosmic balance stays in the favor of good. Whitelighters are beings who protect, advise, and heal good witches and future whitelighters so that they can continue to work for the side of good."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "How exactly does someone become a 'whitelighter'"

Dreading how the conversation was about to turn, Paige continued on in the voice she'd developed for speaking to students at Magic School. "Usually, when a someone who has done great good in their lives dies, they are offered the chance to continue to do good by becoming a whitelighter."

The sheriff recoiled. "Are you saying that you're dead?" she asked, horror evident in her voice.

Paige began to shake her head, but stopped because it was causing her pain. "No, I'm a special case. Though it was forbidden by the Elders at the time, I was born of the relationship between a witch and hr whitelighter. Because of that, I got the powers of both." Paige paused for a beat. "But I do have a brother-in-law who died in World War II."

The blonde woman scowled. Nothing the woman had said so far had been a lie. But that didn't rule out the fact that she could be delusional or under some kind of spell. "Mmhm. I'd really like to have a word with these '_Elders_' of yours." snapped Emma, using her fingers to place air quotes around the word "Elders".

Paige sighed 'Here we go…' "You can't."

"Why not?" challenged the sheriff

"Because… " began Paige "They're not exactly on earth. They live in a kind of separate plane that can only be reached by magical means." The blonde woman opened her mouth to speak, but Paige headed her off. "And no I can't take you there. I've tried multiple times to orb out of this godforsaken place, but my powers seem to be blocked by some kind of barrier around this town."

At this Emma cast a glade backward at the little group gathered behind her, her eyes settling on a slightly scruffy-looking older man. He just shrugged and Emma rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Fine. But does their realm have a name? We might be able to reach them with our own magic."

Paige looked sheepish as she responded. "Uh, no. We usually just refer to it as 'Up There'" As Paige spoke, she lifted her eyes to the ceiling. For a moment Emma's face went completely blank. When she spoke, though, her voice was anything but.

"Are you telling me you're a freaking _ange_l !?"

Paige attempted to smile, but it quickly turned into a grimace. "Some people call us that, yeah."

For a moment, nobody spoke. Eventually, Emma pinched the bridge of her nose and addressed a rather dashing man behind her, whose arm was wrapped around a pale brunette with a Pixie cut. "David, call Doctor Whale and see if he can come down and check her out." The man nodded seriously before extracting a cell phone from his jeans pocket and striding out of the room. Seeing this, Paige was reminded of something.

"Hey, officer, if I'm being arrested can I at least get my one phone call?"

The sheriff nodded somberly and went to hand Paige her phone when she was interrupted by an outburst by Regina.

"Are you seriously allowing this woman to make a call? She tried to _kill_ me and could have hurt Henry! How do we know we can trust her?"

Emma paused. Regina had a point, though the pure irony of the situation was not lost on the sheriff. Still, she narrowed her eyes at Paige.

"Tell me the number and I'll make the call on speakerphone."

Paige nodded and began to dictate a number to her new charge.

"I swear to god Phoebe if you don't pick up…" mumbled Paige as she waited for her older sister to answer her desperate call. At that though, Paige laughed aloud. Oh how the tables had turned.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Phone Calls and Smalltalk

Paige breathed a sigh of relief when her sister picked up on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey Phoebe, It's-"

"Paige!" screeched the empath enthusiastically. A bit too enthusiastically for Paige's liking, as her head throbbed painfully. "Where the hell have you been?! We're all been worried sick about you! Piper's about to break out the crystal and map!"

Paige smiled. She could always count on her sisters to know when she's in trouble. "That's probably a good idea, although I'm not so sure if it'll work." Paige paused, but her sister's silence told her to continue. "I don't know how, but I'm trapped in some kind of magical barrier. I can't orb out of here, and If I try I just get thrown on my ass."

Paige could practically _see_ her sister's frown. "Are you all right, sweetie? You don't sound well."

Paige winced. Leave it to Phoebe to bring up the most awkward topic.

"Um… My charge didn't exactly respond well to my presence at first…" Paige heard a sharp intake of breath from her sister's end.

"Are you hurt? What happened?"

"I kinda hit her over the head with a two-by-four." chimed Emma embarrassedly.

The uncomfortable silence that followed was one for the books. Eventually, Phoebe just closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "Thank god you called me and not Piper. We wouldn't want you to have your charge blown to bits on you first day." Emma's eyes widened in horror, but Paige just laughed. Thank god for Phoebe and her ability to diffuse tense situations.

"Anyways, call Piper. Scry for me in Maine and then have Coop beam you here. There's a lot of confusing things out here, and I'd rather face them with the full Power of Three on my side."

"Right." announced Phoebe determinedly. "We'll grab some potions, drop off the kids and get there ASAP." The middle Charmed one swallowed before continuing in a softer tone. "Stay safe, sweetie."

"I will. See you soon. Love you."

"Love you too." Phoebe paused. "And Paige… _please_ keep out of trouble for once."

"I will." sighed Paige, rolling her eyes just as the line went dead.

~~~

* * *

As soon as the call disconnected, Paige seemed to wilt. It seems that she had put on a brave front in order to talk to the person, and now that it was done, the injured woman collapsed back into her vulnerable state.

Emma put her cellphone away and hesitantly addressed the woman in the cell.

"Who was that?"

"My sister." responded Paige, who was now curled into a ball because of the pain in her head. "Oh, Jesus." she whined "Handcuffs!"

Emma watched in awe as the metal rings disappeared an a swirl of blue-white light, reappearing moments later in the woman's hands. She hurled them across the cell before burying her head in her hands.

"Where the hell is Whale?!" yelled Emma, twisting around to look at the group behind her. Thankfully, the good doctor chose that very moment to breeze into the Sheriff's Station.

"Right here." he announced, quickly pacing across the room to his patient. After a rapid examination, Whale straitened up with a frown. "Definitely a serious concussion. Has her family been contacted?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah. Her sister is, um, on the way."

Whale nodded gravely. "Good. I can't give her anything for the pain until I know if she has any allergies." He cast a fleeting glance at the imprisoned woman before returning his attention to the sheriff. "You should keep talking to her. I don't want her to fall asleep."

"Fine." The blonde turned her attention to Paige. "So, tell me about this sister of yours. Phoebe, was it?"

"Yeah." gasped Paige, clutching her head. "She's the second youngest of us. Bleeding heart, which I guess is because she was always destined for the power of empathy." Paige let out a tense laugh. "I guess this is how she felt before she learned to control her power."

"Go on. Tell me more." urged Emma, sensing that the older woman was beginning to drift into sleep. "Who's this Piper she mentioned?"

Paige smiled. "Next oldest and oldest living. Piper has a temper that will put most Mama bears to shame. Which sucks, 'cuz our powers run on emotion." Paige paused, imagining what Piper would do to Emma if she found out what had happened. "You'd better watch out. Piper might blow you up."

Emma's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

Paige cracked a tiny smile. "Yep. One time she and Leo were fighting and she accidentally blew up a wall."

'Shit' mused Emma silently 'What exactly did I get myself in to?'

"Who _are_ you people?"

Paige chuckled. "We're the Charmed Ones. Three sister witches, the most powerful good witches to ever walk the earth." Paige paused "There was a whole prophesy and everything."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Welcome to the club."

Paige scoffed. "Yeah right missy, ours has been around since the Salem Witch Trials. The Charmed Ones have been active since the late '90s!"

"Fine, fine, you've got me beat in that department. What do you even do, anyways."

Paige shrugged and put on an air of fake modesty. "Oh, you know, vanquish demons, stop the world as we know it from ending. Little stuff like that."

Emma snorted. "Oh, is that all? I'd like to see you take on a _dragon._"

Paige laughed. Hard. "My nephew accidentally created a dragon once. We handled that fine. Why don'y you try taking on the Source of All Evil?"

Emma couldn't help but be impressed, though she didn't exactly know what that even meant. Still, facing down something called the Source of All Evil and living to tell the tale certainly had to be quite the accomplishment.

"You're cool. I get it. Moving on."

For a moment Paige looked mildly offended, but her expression quickly changed as soon as a pink flash enveloped the room.

"Finally! It took you guys long enough to get here!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Charmed Ones Come to Storybrooke

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. As soon as two women had suddenly appeared in a flash of light, every Storybrooke resident in the room instinctively went into a fighting position. The women, too, appeared prepared for a fight. That is until they caught sight of the predicament their sister was in. Emma watched, stunned, as two women rushed from the center of the room and shoved her aside as to get at Paige.

"Oh my god! Are you o.k.? Why are you locked up?" As the two Halliwells took in their younger sister's situation, Piper felt rage bubble up in her gut.

"Whoever hurt my sister, your ass is grass!" She yelled angrily. A lamp on the sheriff's desk exploded, and every non-Charmed one in the room jumped in surprise.

"Calm down Piper." soothed Phoebe, placing a hand on her older sister's bicep "It was a simple misunderstanding." Piper began to protest, but Paige cut her off.

"Seriously sis, everything is fine."

Piper cast one last scrutinizing gaze over the room before lowering her hands. "Fine, but can somebody please explain what Paige meant by 'confusing things' going on here?"

With that, Regina finally saw her chance to speak up

"Yes, your sister attacked me and accused me of being a demon!"

Immediately the sisters tensed up. Phoebe and Piper looked to Paige for an explanation. "She had a fireball!"

The sisters turned to Regina with narrowed eyes. "Care to explain yourself?" asked Piper, her voice dangerous and her hands raised and ready to strike. Not that anybody in the room besides her sisters knew what she was capable of. On the contrary, the accused 'demon' seemed to scoff.

"I think it's _you_ who should be doing the explaining. You show up in our little town out of the blue and try to kill me. Worse, you endanger my son."

At this Piper and Phoebe turned to their sister in the cell, each with an eyebrow raised. Paige scowled. She hated when they teamed up on her like this.

"She was threatening me with a _fireball_ ! I thought the kid was in danger, so I orbed him into the Diner and then threw my emergency vanquishing potion at her."

Phoebe frowned at her younger sister. "I thought you said your powers were on the fritz?"

Paige mentally winced and sent her sister her best winning smile. "Well, turns out they work as long as I don't try to leave town…"

Her sisters saw through her attempt to deflect immediately.

"Which you didn't know until _that moment_, right?" argued Piper hotly "Honestly Paige, what were you thinking?!"

Anger flared within the witchlighter. "I was thinking that there were lives in danger and I needed to act! After years of having demons randomly appear in my house and try to kill me, I think I know by know how to handle myself!"

At this the sisters backed off, and Phoebe visibly flinched at the emotion and physical pain evident in her sister's voice.

"Sorry, sweetie. We're just worried." The empath flashed her sister a winning smile. "Besides, can you imagine what you'd do if the situations were reversed?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. But we still don't know if she's a demon."

The sisters couldn't help but agree, and the whole room was at a hostile standstill until Phoebe was struck with a brilliant idea. Wordlessly, the middle Charmed One stepped forward and offered her hand to the dark-haired woman. With hesitance the gesture was met. Regina warily reached out her hand to shake that of the strange woman. Understanding what was happening, the other two sisters waited with baited breath to see if Phoebe would pick up a premonition. They were not disappointed.

When Phoebe gasped, Regina dropped her hand like a hot coal. The fairytale crew watched in mild horror as the slight woman before them trembled, her eyelids fluttering wildly. When chocolate orbs finally reopened, they stared intently at the darker woman before her.

"Hey Paige?" she called shakily, eyes never leaving Regina "You remember that past life of yours we had to fight off a while back?"

"Yeah…" answered Paige confusedly. Why would Phoebe bring up the Evil Enchantress at a time like this?

"Well," continued Phoebe, her mouth dry "this woman is like that."

At that the other two Halliwell witches went rigid. Perfect. Another powerful evil being that they had to face down. Just what they needed. Sensing their reactions, Phoebe continued to speak before her sisters could make any kind of outburst.

"Relax. Even though she hasn't died and been reborn in the literal sense, she's getting a new chance at life and working past her sins for the light."

This made Paige and Piper relax. Phoebe's power was very rarely wrong. Regina, however, seemed to tense up. Phoebe had to fight to hold back her smirk. Apparently this was news to the brunette.

"And just how do you know that?" she growled, putting up a facade of anger. But Phoebe saw, or rather _felt_ right through it. The woman was unbalanced and more than a little scared at the knowledge possessed by this stranger. Phoebe just shrugged and tried to look as non-threataning as possible.

"I'm a psychic. When I touch something, I can get visions of the past, present, and future that have to do with whatever it is I touched." she paused briefly to take in the surprised faces of the strangers in the room. "I also have the power of empathy, aka to feel other people's emotions, and the ability to levitate."

Regina glowered slightly, realizing that the handshake had been a manipulation. However, this sour mood was set aside as she pondered the woman's words. Was she really getting a second chance? Briefly, her thoughts flashed to Emma. But her train of though was cut short by the knowing smile on the psychic's face.

"I'm don't mean to pry, but for what it's worth you should go for it." Whispered Phoebe so that only Regina could hear. The brunette recoiled, a burning glare leveled at the other woman.

"My love life is none of your business!" she snapped.

Unable to resist, Paige laughed aloud. "Maybe not, but it's her husband's."

At this Regina's glower only intensified. The message was clear: explain.

Phoebe smiled sheepishly. "My husband is a cupid."

Even after all of her adventures in Storybrooke, Emma couldn't help but be a little incredulous. "Seriously? Like, diaper, wings, bow-and-arrow love cupid?" By the look on the other woman's face, Emma could immediately tell that this was a sore subject.

"NO. He looks like a regular person and everything, he just can sense love and uses a _ring_ to give potential couples the right nudge they need to find love." Phoebe let out an exasperated sigh. "God, I hate that stereotype almost as much as broomsticks and pointy hats!"

At that Piper openly laughed at her. "Hey, you have to take some of the blame on that one. I happen to recall quite a bit of broom-flying, hat wearing, and cackling when you distracted that angry mob when we went back in time to help Melinda Warren come into the world."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "That was out of necessity. No baby, no us. Besides, I distinctly remember somebody dressing up as _Glinda_ that year! Like _that's_ any better for our image!" The two sisters continued to stare one another down, oblivious to their sibling's pained expression or the stuned tension that had arisen in the room at the mention of time travel.


	7. Chapter 7

"Pardon me dearies, but did you just say you've time traveled?"

This unexpected outburst disrupted the sisters' argument. They whipped their heads around to stare at the older man leaning against the back corner who had spoken. Thus far, he'd been silent, his only activity listening intently and fidgeting absentmindedly with the cane he carried. The women only blushed, too embarrassed that they'd been arguing like children in front of total strangers to reply. Eventually, it was Paige who spoke.

"Sure. It doesn't happen often, but when it does we usually have a pretty big mess to deal with. Like when I put on a pair of our Grams' old Go-Go boots and got transported to the '60s." Paige paused to laugh "Ended up screwing with the timeline a bit before fixing it. We changed events so our grandfather wouldn't be killed by a demon, but that just made Grams go all soft. His death is what caused her to be a bad-ass demon hunter. But we fixed it, and she was back to her old self just in time to help kick some major ass before returning to the afterlife." The youngest sister smiled at the memory before wincing in pain and under the heat of her sisters' glares. She didn't exactly have the tightest lips under normal circumstances, but add in a head injury and she was simply spouting secrets left and right.

The room was once again dead silent as the Storybrookers outright stared at the Charmed Ones. Regina was the first to recover, stepping foreword to address the sisters with a hard look on her face.

"What exactly do you mean by 'returning to the afterlife'?" She asked, her voice falsely light. Paige, oblivious to the other woman's menacing demeanor, simply shrugged as she responded casually.

"Our Grams died a few years before I met my sisters. They summoned her from the afterlife to help sort out the mess she created with the little 'return to owner' spell she placed on her boots that caused me to time travel in the first place." Paige rolled her eyes wondering how her grandmother had thought that that spell wouldn't be considered personal gain.

"S-so you can summon the dead?" questioned Regina further, her mind racing with possibilities. Her heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Daniel again, for real this time.

Piper shot her sister a warning look, but the witchlighter paid her no heed. "Sure, for the occasional visit. But only if you're ready to see them and vice versa. You can't see someone if you don't accept their death. That's why we weren't able to see Prue."

Regina deflated slightly, but she was still struck by the kind of power these women possessed. At first she'd deemed them nothing but a minor annoyance, a threat barely worthy of her time. Now, though, she was beginning to see them in another light. These witches' magic operated on a completely different system than what she had learned. Their powers seemed to be innate, part of the fabric of their very beings. That thought stopped Regina dead in her tracks: wasn't this supposed to be a land without magic? 'Then again' thought the dark witch silently 'their magic seems unlike any I've ever encountered.' Things deemed impossible by Enchanted Forest magical standards seemed to come easily to these women, even occurring accidentally. The amount of raw power to do that, well… Regina frowned deeply and cast a sidelong glance at Gold, sensing a headache building behind her eyes. A new element to their power struggle was the_ last_ thing she (or anybody for that matter) needed.

"Enough!" snapped Piper, freezing the room. She was really over Paige's blabbing mouth. They still had no idea who these people were or if they could be trusted. Sharing all their secrets could mean suicide. "Are you insane?!" Piper snapped, wheeling around to glare full-on at Paige. "We have no idea what's going on here, and you feel the need to spill your guts to /i/ strangers /i/? Haven't you-" Piper's angry rant was interrupted by an outburst from Emma.

"What the hell?!" screeched the blonde, waving her hand franticly in front of the face of a frozen brunette. Mildly annoyed, the older witch turned to address her sister's new charge.

"Don't worry, I just froze her in time for a bit. She'll be fine."

"Oh is that all?" snarled the blonde, her body tense. It was at that moment Regina chose to make her move. She placed a soothing hand on the Savior's arm. "Don't." she warned quietly enough for only Emma to hear. Then, with all the regality of a queen, re turned her attention to the three witches before her. "Why freeze them and not us?"

Piper seemed to scowl slightly before answering. "Oh believe me I tried, but my power doesn't work on other good witches."

At that Regina blinked. "I- you mean _I'm_ a _good_ witch?"

Piper nodded, a skeptical and unimpressed look on her face. "Um yeah. Even powerful evil beings freeze for a second before they break out. So congrats on not being a demon." Piper then tilted her head and shot her youngest sister an expectant look. Though Phoebe's earlier premonition had set her slightly at ease, this undeniable fact of the woman's current goodness enabled Piper to fully invest her trust in both witches before her. Ant now that she knew they were trustworthy, it was only fair that her younger sister offered up an apology for her earlier rash behavior. Catching the glint in Piper's eye that showed she meant business, Paige sighed before slowly raising her gaze to meet Regina's.

"Sorry for thinking you were evil and trying to vanquish you."

All the former queen could do was nod dumbly. For so long she had been trying to redeem herself and make up for her dark past. Now, it seemed, she had concrete proof of her success. Somehow, she'd made the transition from Evil Queen to good witch. A grin spread across her face. She couldn't wait to tell Henry.


End file.
